Q&A for How to Destroy a Hard Drive

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How much does it cost to have a hard drive shredded?

wikiHow Staff Editor
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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

It will depend on where you are and what businesses are near you, but you might expect a charge of around $10 to $15 per drive with a certification of destruction in many cases. You might be charged less if you are destroying many drives or much more if you are only destroying one drive and don't have many options in your area.

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Can you erase a hard drive with a magnet?

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

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It's possible, but you would need a very powerful magnet and there are much more consistent ways to erase or destroy a hard drive.

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Question

If I just soak the hard drive in water, will that be enough to destroy it?

Community Answer

Honestly no. Real forensic hackers can take the disc and replace the circuits. It will be corroded, but not gone. I'd say blow torch, hammer and a couple of bullet holes. Even after that I'd bury it.

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If I destroy my hard drive, can anyone recover my data?

Community Answer

No, especially if it's destroyed fully. However, if you just wipe a drive, the contents inside won't be magically gone, they wait to be overwritten, but destroying a hard drive will annihilate everything inside and nobody will be able to access it, unless you're running from the government that is.

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Question

How do I destroy an SSD?

Cole Moynihan

Community Answer

Method 9 would be the best choice for an SSD. If you can't do method 9, method 7 also works.

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Can the hard drive be erased by resetting the factor setup?

Community Answer

No. You need to use a file shredder and a clean format to make the drive clean, usable slate.

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Will leaving a computer outside for a year destroy the hard drive?

Community Answer

No, it will just kill the circuitry, all of your data will still be there. Not to mention someone could easily just steal it if you leave it outside.

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Question

Is it possible to damage a hard drive without opening the tower case or taking it out from the cabinet?

Community Answer

Yes. You can damage the tower case, too, but it would take longer.

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Question

Does Dave's Boot and Nuke work to make data irretrievable?

Community Answer

Yes. The one I use is DoD. It's a good method of wiping the drive, but it can take a while.

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Question

I have a waste management truck coming here weekly, which crushes and compacts all waste from our cans. Will this destroy a hard drive effectively?

Community Answer

Most likely, but there is still a possibility of it being stolen from your trash bin. You should just scratch the platters of the drive, then send the other parts to an e-waste recycling plant.

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Can "Big Brother" rebuild the hard drive?

Aasim

Top Answerer

No, because destroying the hard drive permanently fragments and corrupts data, it is no longer possible to use it or put it back together.

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Question

Why does my computer tell me boot manager is missing when I turn it on? What can I do about it?

Community Answer

Your Windows boot manager is corrupted and you will have to either fire up Hiren's boot CD or reinstall Windows.

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Question

How can people piece a hard drive together to get it working after it getting smashed? Isn't it impossible?

Community Answer

If the platter itself was undamaged, then it could be removed and placed in a drive of the same model. However, as the merest dust particle can cause read/write errors, it must be done in a clean-room environment by expert staff in full-body suits. Difficult and very costly, yes, but not necessarily impossible.

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Question

Will this stop the FBI?

Dylan Vaughan

Community Answer

The Federal Bureau of Investigation cannot fix a platter if it is in thousands of shards. Destroying the drive and annihilating the platter inside is the best way to prevent recovery.

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Question

If I boil my flash drive, will it be destroyed?

Hydro dipper

Community Answer

Yes, but you're going to want to put about half a cup of oil in for every 2 cups of water, and then let it sit for 15-20 minutes afterwards.

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Question

Why the heck would I destroy a hard drive?

Community Answer

Because hard drives can contain very sensitive data like credit card information and passwords. As an experienced hacker or computer forensics expert can obtain the information even if the drive is reformatted or the files erased, destruction is the only certain means of protecting the data on a hard drive that will no longer be used.

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Question

if I make holes all over the disk, can someone repair it completely using sophisticated equipment?

Vinyaya

Community Answer

It really depends on where you make those holes. Since not a lot of people want to pry open a hard drive, you might hit unimportant wires or stuff like that. It would be better to punch it full of holes, but that's basically shredding it anyway.

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